Woman sues after police mistake her sage for marijuana

A Florida woman who brought a smudge stick of sage on a bird-watching trip has sued the Broward County sheriff’s office, after police thought her dried herb was marijuana and arrested her.

Robin Brown, 49, was arrested in 2009, after a police officer said her sage was marijuana, the Sun-Sentinel in Orlando reported. The officer seized her “contraband” for lab tests, and Brown was arrested three months later at her workplace for marijuana possession.

“They arrested me in front of my customers, my boss, my co-workers,” Brown told the paper. She said she was subjected to a body cavity search, a strip search, and an overnight stay in jail.

But it turned out the sage was never tested in a lab, Brown’s attorney said. When it was tested – after the woman’s release – it contained no marijuana, the Sun Sentinel reported. The criminal charges were dropped.